A pulpy tale of mismatched twins struggling to embody the perfect woman: "Effortlessly cool and slyly spiky, Despentes probes the dynamics of fame, beauty, and female competition, putting her finger on the pulse of what it’s like to wear the daily drag of femininity—and then pressing down, slowly and calmly, right where it hurts" (Alexandra Kleeman, author of You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine).Claudine has always been pretty and Pauline has always been ugl...

**Library Journal: Best World Literature of the YearA fable, parable, and confession, the second novel from the acclaimed author of The Meursault Investigation pays homage to the essential need for fiction and to the freedom from tradition afforded by an adopted language.**Having lost his mother and been shunned by his father, Zabor grows up in the company of books, which teach him a new language. Ever since he can remember, he has been convinced that he h...

In this thoughtful coming-of-age memoir, a young sociologist reflects on her Moroccan immigrant parents, their journey to France, and how growing up an outsider shaped her identity.Imbued with tenderness for her family and a critical view of the challenges facing French North African immigrants, Kaoutar Harchi’s probing account illustrates the deeply personal effects of political issues. Mixed with happy memories of her childhood home in eastern France are ever-pre...

In his sixth novel to be published into English, Abdellah Taïa explores the dissonance of one man’s homecoming marred by the memory of his tragic past and grief-filled present.Upon his mother's death, Youssef—a Moroccan teacher who has lived in exile in France for a quarter of a century—returns to his hometown, Salé, at his sisters' request to settle the family estate.In Salé, voices from Youssef’s past reemerge, including that of Najib, his childhood frien...

Winner of the 2018 Albertine PrizeFinalist for the 2018 Lamba Literary AwardsFinalist for the 2018 French American Foundation Translation PrizeAvailable in a new edition, Anne Garréta's sensual portrayal of trysts past.A tour de force of experimental queer feminist writing, Not One Day is renowned Oulipo member Anne Garréta's intimate exploration of the delicate connection between m...

For the first time in English, literary icon Marguerite Duras's foundational masterpiece about a young woman's existential breakdown in the deceptively peaceful French countryside.The Easy Life is the story of Francine Veyrenattes, a twenty-five-year-old woman who already feels like life is passing her by. After witnessing a series of tragedies on her family farm, she alternates between intense grief and staggering bored...

*We discover a new species of life form every day.But, every day,a species also disappears.The fly has 10 chromosomes,the hamster 22, the rat 42, the human 46,the chimpanzee 48, the cow 60,and the butterfly 380.*London, 1881.There's something a little eerie about Manon – she's not like the other girls at the orphanage. Maybe it's her red eyes. Maybe it's her silence. Maybe it's the series of violent deaths that seem to follow her.

In this thoughtful coming-of-age memoir, a young sociologist reflects on her Moroccan immigrant parents, their journey to France, and how growing up an outsider shaped her identity.Imbued with tenderness for her family and a critical view of the challenges facing French North African immigrants, Kaoutar Harchi’s probing account illustrates the deeply personal effects of political issues. Mixed with happy memories of her childhood home in eastern France are ever-present reminders of...

Bloomsbury presents The Easy Life by Marguerite Duras, read by Caroline Hewitt.For the first time in English, literary icon Marguerite Duras’s foundational masterpiece about a young woman’s existential breakdown in the deceptively peaceful French countryside.The Easy Life is the story of Francine Veyrenattes, a twenty-five-year-old woman who already feels like life is passing her by. After witnessing a series of tragedies on her family farm, she alternates between intense g...

The only YA book to tell the story of George Sand and the courageous fight for women’s rights in the 19th century.George Sand was the most popular novelist of the mid-19th century, and the pen name of Amandine Aurore Dupin. Sand wasn’t looking for scandal or subterfuge by using a pseudonym, but for freedom to live and to write, which she found by dressing as a man, writing under a man’s name, and loving who and how she chose. Her actions were an affront to the prej...

The work of a novelist and translator collide in this visionary and hilarious debut from acclaimed French writer Brice Matthieussent. Revenge of the Translator follows Trad, who is translating a mysterious author’s book, Translator’s Revenge, from English to French. The book opens as a series of footnotes from Trad, as he justifies changes he makes. As the novel progresses, Trad begins to take over the writing, methodically breaking down the work of the original writer an...

This surreal poetry maps Morocco’s cultural history, as Bouanani hauntingly evokes all of the violence inflicted on his countryThe Shutters collects the two most important poetry collections—"The Shutters" and "Photograms"—by the legendary Moroccan writer Ahmed Bouanani. By intertwining myth and tradition with the familiar objects and smells of his lived present, Bouanani reconstructs vivid images of Morocco's past. He weaves together references to the Sec...